November 25, 2015

With the target of making over 90 percent of Indian roads bituminous, the central government has allocated more than 10 percent of its total expenditure on roads development testifying to the high priority being accorded the sector, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Monday.

"Over 90 percent roads in India have to be bituminous. The current government has kept the development of roads at a high priority by allocating more than 10 percent of the total spending for the same," Pradhan said here inaugurating the two-day Asian Bitumen Conference being held for the first time in India.

"The current government has kept the development of roads at a high priority by allocating more than 10 percent of the total spending for the same," he said.

"I'm happy to note that bitumen products are being introduced at all the refineries in the country for the better performance of roads in India," he added.

Noting that with a road infrastructure of 3.3 million km, India has the second largest road network in the world after America, Pradhan said: "Bitumen becomes an important parameter in planning and execution of road construction projects in India."

"Owing to the diverse climatic conditions, it requires better understanding of bitumen supply and demand in the country."

According to the minister, total bitumen sales in India in 2014-2015 amounted to 4.8 million tonnes.

Experts from as many as 20 countries from Asia have come together to discuss challenges and opportunities emerging in the bitumen market in Asia, the conference organisers Asian Bitumen said.

"India's bitumen utilisation will outpace production in the coming years as demand is expected to accelerate," the organisers said in a statement.

According to the organisers, currently 90 percent of India's bitumen requirement is met by local oil companies, while the balance is imported. India also exports during the monsoon season from the east coast.

"Factors such as a shift in demand towards value added bitumen products, preference being given to cement over bitumen in road construction in countries like India, and additional usages emerging for the crude by-product have dramatically affected the outlook of the bitumen market in Asia," the statement said.

Global bitumen demand is expected to reach 122 million tonnes in 2018.

November 21, 2015

U.S. President Barack Obama says it's "not contradictory" for Canada to continue extracting bitumen from Alberta's oilsands while also working as a global partner in transitioning away from fossil fuels.

"My view has been that we have to transition," Obama said during a joint press conference with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Manila.

"That transition does not happen overnight."

"Both of us are large oil and gas producers and that's an important part of our economy," Obama continued.

"We make no apologies for that but I also think that we have to recognize that if we want to preserve this planet for our kids and our grandkids, then we're going to have to shift increasingly away from carbon-emitting energy sources."

Trudeau, for his part, said Canada had earned an international reputation for not taking climate change seriously and that's something he intends to change.

"We understand as a government that there is no longer a choice to be made between what's good for the environment or what's good for the economy," Trudeau said. "They go together in the 21st century."

The prime minister said one of his "first tasks" on the issue will be to "reassure Canadians and others that we are serious about meeting reduction targets, about being positive actors on the world stage in the fight against climate change, and demonstrating a future in renewables and smart investments around energy."

Low oil prices 'an opportunity'

The U.S. president also acknowledged the economic woes Alberta is currently facing and noted the reality of oil production and the move toward alternative energy sources will be "dictated by market prices."

"Right now in Alberta, a lot of the issues with respect to how to extract oil does have to do with the fact that oil prices are low and they're going to be low, I suspect, for a while," Obama said. "That actually presents both our countries an opportunity."

Now is the time for energy companies to look seriously at diversifying their business models, the president said, and for consumers to use any savings in their fuel bills to invest in things like solar panels for their homes.

"This is going to be a messy, bumpy process worldwide," Obama said.

"But I am confident that we can get it done and the fact that we now have a very strong partner in Canada to help set up some global rules around how we approach this will be extraordinarily helpful."

November 20, 2015

The Matola terminals Global mid- and downstream energy company Puma Energy officially opened new bitumen and fuel terminals in Mozambique this week, raising its capacity in the Southern African country to 275 500 m³.

The Matola terminals comprise 11 steel storage tanks, which have collectively added 115 000 m³ of storage capacity. The bitumen terminal has been designed to reduce Mozambique’s dependence on imports, while the fuel terminal creates a new fuel-supply channel for the Southern African Development Community.

COO Christophe Zyde described the Mozambican storage facilities as “state-of-the-art” and said the infrastructure would act as a catalyst for economic growth in the country.

Puma Energy, which is associated with the Trafigura Group, is active in over 45 countries globally and recently set up a regional hub in Johannesburg, South Africa, where it is also in the process of building storage capacity.

Some independent teapot refiners in China's eastern Shandong province will be ramping up crude oil imports over the next month in a bid to utilize their import quotas before the end of the year, trade sources said this week.

This is despite a slowdown in domestic gasoline and gasoil sales, which dampened teapot refiners' demand for imported crude, petroleum bitumen blend and straight-run fuel oil over this week, as they continue to grapple with rising oil product stocks, according to sources.

No new crude cargoes have arrived at Shandong ports this week, after a string of deliveries last week.

But given a few refineries have only utilized just a small portion of their annual import quotas, the Shandong provincial government has required Lihuayi Petrochemical -- better known as Lijin -- Yatong Petrochemical and Kenli Petrochemical, to import a total 880,000 mt of crude before the end of this year.

Lijin will need to import 200,000 mt next month in order to meet its target.

The refiner, which has a crude import quota of 3.5 million mt/year, received two cargoes totaling 200,000 mt last week and will be returning from an ongoing full turnaround at the end of November.

Yatong will need to import around 600,000 mt of crude before the end of the year.

The refiner last week has received one 50,000-mt cargo of Russian Sokol crude, after taking delivery of its first import cargo of 60,000 mt in October. Yatong has a crude import quota of 2.76 million mt/year.

Kenli Petrochemical will have to import 80,000 mt of crude by the end of this year, according to sources.

The refiner, which has a quota of 2.52 million mt/year, has so far received a total of about 200,000 mt of Russian ESPO blend crude.

Meanwhile, some Omani crude, as well as Brazilian grades, were offered into the spot market on a FOB Qingdao basis, sources said.

With teapot refiners importing crude, the supply of imported crude in the Shandong market has also become abundant.

Some of the teapot refiners unable to fully use up their import crude supply in their own systems were said to be selling part of their cargoes to other teapot refiners which have not been granted import quotas yet.

Shandong's teapot refineries are able to crack crude and fuel oil, but they have been using less imported fuel oil since November 2014 because of relatively high procurement costs.

After the government granted teapot refineries access to imported crude oil, crude has been the top feedstock choice, while bitumen blend is still considered favorable for those that have no access to both domestic and imported crude.

Imports of petroleum bitumen blend by Shandong teapot refineries have been slow in recent weeks, mainly due to uncertainties over tax issues.

There was talk in the market that the government may levy a consumption tax on bitumen blend, as it has a similar quality to fuel oil. And should this happen, there will probably be fewer buyers for bitumen blend, which is used as feedstock for coking units.

Since the government typically reviews and revises all import and export items at the end of the year, trade sources said they would rather wait for a clear directive before resuming imports.

No new bitumen blend cargoes have arrived for Shandong teapot refineries this week.

Yuhuang Petrochemical and Hengyuan Petrochemical early this month have each taken delivery of a 100,000-mt cargo of bitumen blend at Rizhao and Tianjin. Another two similar cargoes are scheduled to arrive late this month, sources said.

This compares with an estimate 530,000 mt of bitumen blend imports, in five cargoes, into Shandong ports in October, which was lower than September's imports of 1.1 million mt in 12 cargoes.

The steep fall in bitumen blend imports was attributed to more teapot refineries being allowed to import crude, freeing up domestic crude supply to other refiners and displacing the share of bitumen blend in refiners' feedstock mix as a result.

Premiums of November-delivery common grade bitumen blend cargoes were heard at around $20-$25/mt to the Mean of Platts Singapore 380 CST high sulfur fuel oil assessments on a CFR basis.

Common grade bitumen blend has a density of 0.98-0.99 kg/l, sulfur content of 2%-3% and carbon residue of 12%-14%.

Teapot refineries in Shandong -- China's main buyers of imported straight-run fuel oil before November 2014 -- have largely switched to comparatively cheaper bitumen blend that does not incur consumption tax and import tariffs.

ONE RUSSIAN M100 FUEL OIL CARGO ARRIVED FOR TEAPOT

On Russian M100 fuel oil, one 30,000-mt cargo is due to arrive Friday at Rizhao port in Shandong.

The cargo will be taken by Xinhai Petrochemical in Jiangsu province, a subsidiary of Shandong's biggest teapot refiner Dongming Petrochemical. Western trader Mercuria was said to have moved M100 fuel oil cargoes into Shandong this month, though details on the number of cargoes and buyers were not known.

M100 fuel oil cargoes for delivery in early December were heard talked at premiums of around $45/mt to MOPS 180 CST fuel oil assessments on a CFR basis, stable from those delivered in early November.

Meanwhile, despite current thin demand for M100 fuel oil from teapot refineries and petrochemical plants, some Chinese companies are now expected likely to participate in Russian state-owned Rosneft's term tender for 2016.

The tender, offering up to 3.5 million mt of M100 fuel oil for loading over January to December 2016 from Nakhodka or Slavyanka, closes on November 19, and bids will remain valid until December 11.

Rosneft currently has a term contract of up to 2.8 million mt of M100 for loading over January-December 2015 from Nakhodka or Vanino with Mercuria, at a term premium of around $85-$88/mt to MOPS 180 CST HSFO assessment on a FOB basis.

November 19, 2015

Bowman Centre lauded as 'Resource Champion'

The Sarnia Lambton Chamber of Commerce has presented a Resource Champion award to the Bowman Centre. Pictured, from left, are Don Wood (of the Bowman Centre); Rob Taylor, chair of the Sarnia Lambton Chamber of Commerce; Katherine Albion, director of the Bowman Centre; and Walter Petryschuk, a Bowman Centre associate.

A group of individuals who continue to advocate for what could, if they are successful, be one of Sarnia-Lambton’s largest commercial projects in decades has been recognized by the Sarnia Lambton Chamber of Commerce.

The Bowman Centre, which is based at the Western Research Park Sarnia-Lambton, was singled out for the award at a ceremony last Friday.

“This group has dedicated an enormous amount of time and considerable expertise to create prosperity in Sarnia-Lambton,” said Rob Taylor, chair of the Sarnia Lambton Chamber of Commerce, referring to several individuals who were in attendance.

Those included Walter Petryschuk, an associate who has spent much of his career in Chemical Valley (he was once plant manager at the former Polysar complex); Don Wood, also an associate; and Katherine Albion, who is director of the Bowman Centre.

One of the major initiatives at the Bowman Centre is a proposed Sarnia-Lambton Advanced Bitumen Energy Refinery—SABER—an initiative that came from a conference held in Sarnia in 2013.

A precipitous fall in oil prices since then has clearly presented a challenge, although it has also sparked a degree of flexibility.

One example of that, says Wood, is reducing the initial scale of the proposed project, along with the inclusion of bio-feedstocks and even the product mix being proposed for SABER.

The core idea behind the project remains consistent, says Petryschuk.

“The fact is, we’re losing billions of dollars in potential added value by not refining bitumen in Canada,” he says. “that, to me, is almost criminal.”

The SABER project hasn’t altered the Bowman Centre’s vision and the existing pipeline infrastructure is sufficient to make the project viable.

Petryschuk also credited the support of the community and various volunteers with the Bowman Centre for their contributions. “Without them, we just wouldn’t get this job done,” he says.

But teapot refineries that have recently been granted both import quotas and import licenses for crude oil continued to take in crude cargoes, particularly largest Shandong teapot refiner Dongming Petrochemical.

The 7.5 million mt/year (150,000 b/d) Dongming has received a 240,000-mt cargo shipped from the Gulf of Mexico at Rizhao port early this week, adding to imports of 350,000 mt earlier this month. The latest shipment brings the total volume of crude imported under its import quota of 6 million mt/year to 2.84 million mt.

Adding on to the volume received by four other Shandong teapot refineries with import quotas, teapot refineries have imported a total of around 3.74 million mt of crude since end-July, when Dongming took its first cargo.

For November, the 3.5 million mt/year Yatong Petrochemical is taking in a crude cargo much larger -- possibly a VLCC -- than its first import cargo comprising 60,000 mt of Indonesian Duri crude in mid-October, said a source from the refinery. But details, including the crude grade, of its planned November import could not be ascertained.

Meanwhile, the 3.5 million mt/year Lijin Petrochemical, which is scheduled to restart from an ongoing full turnaround in early November, has not fixed any imported crude cargoes for the coming month so far.

Shandong's teapot refineries are able to crack crude and fuel oil, but they have been using less imported fuel oil since November 2014 because of relatively high procurement costs.

After the government granted teapot refineries access to imported crude, crude has been the top feedstock choice, while bitumen blend is still considered favorable for those that have no access to both domestic and imported crude.

THREE BITUMEN BLEND CARGOES HEARD FIXED FOR NOV SO FAR

Demand for petroleum bitumen blend among Shandong teapot refiners remained thin over the week, with around three cargoes heard so far fixed for November delivery.

This compares with an estimate 530,000 mt of bitumen blend imports, in five cargoes, into Shandong ports in October.

The latest arrival is a 97,000-mt cargo from Malaysia into Rizhao port this week, taken by the 3 million mt/year Yuhuang Petrochemical. The supplier was heard to have resold the cargo to Yuhuang -- which earlier had no plans to buy bitumen blend for October -- after the original buyer decided not to take the cargo.

Still, overall estimated bitumen blend imports in October were lower than September's imports of 1.1 million mt in 12 cargoes.

The fall in bitumen blend imports was attributed to more teapot refineries being allowed to import crude, freeing up domestic crude supply to other refiners and displacing the share of bitumen blend in refiners' feedstock mix as a result.

Adding to this, Shandong customs officials have been scrutinizing imports of bitumen blend more closely since end-September in a bid to identify misrepresented fuel oil cargoes. This has led some teapot refineries to suspend their import activities for the time being.

Premiums of November-delivery common grade bitumen blend cargoes are now heard lower, at around $20-$25/mt to the Mean of Platts Singapore 380 CST high sulfur fuel oil assessments on a CFR basis, from MOPS 380 CST HSFO assessments plus $27-$30/mt, CFR, last heard for October cargoes.

Common grade bitumen blend has a density of 0.98-0.99 kg/l, sulfur content of 2%-3% and carbon residue of 12%-14%.

And in the domestic spot market, bitumen blend prices were heard to have fallen to around Yuan 2,200/mt this week, from Yuan 2,300/mt last week, due to weak buying interest from teapot refiners.

Teapot refineries in Shandong -- China's main buyers of imported straight-run fuel oil before November 2014 -- have largely switched to comparatively cheaper bitumen blend that does not incur consumption tax and import tariffs.

ONE M100 FUEL OIL CARGO FIXED FOR NOVEMBER, POSSIBLY TO SHANDONG

On Russian M100 fuel oil, western trader Mercuria was understood to have chartered the Cap Laurent to load 100,000 mt of M100 fuel oil from Russia's Kozmino this week to northern China, possible to Shandong.

And on Thursday, a 90,000-mt combination cargo of M100 and straight-run fuel oil had arrived at Longkou port. Regular M100 importer Hengyuan Petrochemical was heard as the buyer.

M100 fuel oil cargoes for early November delivery were heard talked at premiums of around $50/mt to MOPS 180 CST fuel oil assessments on a CFR basis, steady from last levels heard for October, but down from premiums of $55/mt for September.

Meanwhile, eyes are on Russian state-owned Rosneft's upcoming M100 term supply for loading over January-December 2016.

Rosneft currently has a term contract for 2.8 million mt of M100 for loading over January-December 2015 from Nakhodka or Vanino with Mercuria, at a term premium of around $85-$88/mt to MOPS 180 CST HSFO assessment on a FOB basis.

October 8, 2015

Iriele is a small community situated in Ondo State and the indigenes have high demands for development. Over the years, they have dreamt of the day when bitumen would be exploited, creating job opportunities, infrastructure and economic prosperity. The people of this town consider bitumen as a God endowed heritage which should be harnessed immediately to create jobs, deliver infrastructure and reduce the hardship they face daily. Those dreams have not become reality up till now, denting their hopes and leaving them frustrated as the indigenes of these towns wait endlessly for the government to attract the needed investment.

In the light of the foregoing, is the wider debate about Nigeria’s rich mineral reserve and the failure of the government to properly utilise the wealth of the nation to the betterment of lives of the citizenry. This belief is voiced by majority of the ordinary people in this bitumen bearing community including border communities like Agbabu and Ilubirin.

Nigeria is the sixth largest bitumen deposit in the world with most of the reserve found in Ondo State. However, there’s a wider debate about Nigeria’s rich mineral reserves and the failure of the government to properly utilize the wealth of the nation to the betterment of lives of the citizenry.

This belief is voiced by majority of the ordinary people in this bitumen bearing community including border communities like Agbabu and lIubirin. They have argued that since Nigeria’s crude might no longer generate sufficient revenue to run the nation’s economy, there should be an alternative to fall back on. In the perspective of these pro-bitumen agitators, bitumen is a guaranteed option as Nigeria re-defines its roadmap to economic recovery.

A lawmaker representing the Irele-Agbabu State Constituency in Ondo State House of Assembly, and one of the key proponents of bitumen Honourable Afolabi Iwalewa, thinks that the wobbly situation of Nigeria’s oil is a wakeup call for the exploitation of bitumen:

“ Any moment from now, crude oil will fade off. Look at what is happening now with the talk of oil theft. Every state is crying now, even the Federal Government is crying that it is not getting what it used to get from oil. What is the Federal Government doing, and why can’t we find another alternative? If crude oil is not going to fetch us what we project (in terms of revenue), why can’t we switch over to bitumen?”

Another standpoint of Honourable Iwalewa’s pro-bitumen advocacy is that the non-exploitation of the resource is causing people in these communities a lot of trouble because they have to cope with the reality of spill ravaging precious farmlands where bitumen is found so close to the surface that a simple shovel can excavate the glossy black substance.

Bitumen is found in tar sands, which is also a combination of clay, sand and water. A heavy black viscous substance, oil-rich bitumen is extracted from tar sands, which is then refined into oil. The bitumen in tar sands cannot be pumped from the ground in its natural state; instead tar sand deposits are mined, usually using strip mining or open pit techniques, or the oil is extracted by underground heating with additional upgrading.

In essence, it involves a complex process that will certainly disrupt their lives and livelihoods beyond what they can imagine. This is what the people of the bitumen bearing communities in Ondo State are calling for when they appeal for the exploitation of the resource in their soil.

Taking a closer look at the experience of Canada, the biggest producer of tar sands globally, shows that exploitation has actually resulted in serious damage to the local communities and the environment. The clearing of vast area which is a component of the mining process is responsible for the Canadian moon-landscape we see in Alberta, Canada, where large forest with pristine trees that sprawled across its landscape now looks more like a waste land ravaged by the exploration of bitumen.

In spite of all of the warnings pointing at the dangers of venturing into tar sands exploitation, especially the apparent impacts of livelihoods of ordinary people due to the far reaching implications for the environment, including the lands and water bodies, the people in the bitumen bearing communities have inclined to brush these opinions aside.

Olofun of lrele, Oba Olarenwajulebi, the octogenarian traditional ruler of the Irele community, for instance, criticizes talk of possible environmental hazards if bitumen were to be extracted in the area. He brags about of what his realm would look like if development were to prevail, using bitumen as the tool.

“If development were to succeed the way the people of this area want it, this town would have looked like Lagos. I say so because bitumen will provide a lot of employment for all the youths in this area, not in Irele alone, but all over the Southern senatorial district and even in the whole of Ondo State. The bitumen deposit here is a very huge one. It is the second largest in the world, according to the survey conducted by some experts,” he enthused.And on the Canadian experience he explained: “In Canada, they do it in Calgary, and I have been there. They don’t drive away communities, and they replenish the soil. Where they mine the bitumen, they mix the soil with some chemicals, and restore it for the farmers to go back there and farm. And when those people were working here, I talked to them and they told me that even if they have to relocate some communities, they will have to build some fine buildings for them, and that the exploitation won’t affect much of their lands. It is something that they will dig from the ground; and it won’t affect us adversely.”

There’s no doubt that the allure of jobs, development and the improvement they envisage that bitumen development would give to their communities has strengthened their resolve to continue campaigning for the exploration of their God-given wealth. Any attempt to make the pro-bitumen agitators to consider the consequences is usually met with cold shoulders.

However, a geologist at the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Ondo State, Professor Peter Odeyemi offered a much more balanced picture of the realities on the ground. Odeyemi, who was a member of the defunct Federal Government’s Bitumen Implementation Committee (BIC) made a poignant observation when he noted that the mere presence of a resource does not necessarily translate into commercially viable deposits.

“The first thing is that how much is there? We don’t know! We need to carry out further work in that area in the first instance. Secondly, exploration can be carried out by an oil company because bitumen is a hydro-carbon but also there are difficulties (technical difficulties). If an oil company is going to carry out an exploration there, there is an interest, financial one. This company will calculate how much it’s going to get. It will also look at certain technical issues and the ease of exploitation. This is so because although both of them are hydro-carbon, one is easier to exploit than the other.

Also,how will you exploit without exposing the soil to direct rain fall impact, denudation, erosion and degradation. So they have generation of enlightened professors and everything. The place is highly enlightened and the environmental issues are potent here like in Europe. If you look at the Niger Delta, the people just welcomed oil companies with open hands not knowing that oil companies are devils. They are only interested in profits. They are not in any way interested in environmental sustainability, in flora, in fauna and even in the development of the people,” he said.

He continued: “Our problem is not bitumen; our problem is corruption. What do we do with the money we have been getting from oil? The one we are exploiting, what are we doing with it? The people are getting poorer; there is no electricity, water, healthcare, and education. This is despite the fact that we are making trillions of dollars. So, if we now exploit bitumen and add another trillion, we are just going to multiply the corruption,” Odeyemi concluded.

There is no doubt that the exploration of bitumen will have a heavy toll on the environment of Iriele, and neighboring Agbabu and IIlubirin Communities in Ondo State. Water will be polluted, farmlands destroyed, large expanse of forest will be brought down and communities destroyed. Is this kind if cost these communities are willing to pay or are their alternative development paths that communities can take that will have more sustainable economic impact? As the federal government plans to diversify the economy, and explore mining of solid minerals as an alternative, there’s no gainsaying that the environment must be protected even as the nation seeks improved economic fortune.

September 24, 2015

THE second stage of the Hindley St West redevelopment will retain the bitumen road surface after the disastrous results when slippery pavers were installed last year.

The council’s city design and transport manager, Daniel Bennett, said the second stage of the redevelopment, between Register and Morphett streets, would include wider footpaths, more lighting and tree planting but not use pavers on the road.

The pavers used in the first stage did not provide enough grip for motorists, particularly in wet conditions, and the speed limit had to be slashed to 10km/h to ensure safety.

A special “grit coating” was trialled on sections of the pavers in January, before being installed in April, when the speed limit was increased to 30km/h.

The $2 million second stage is still in the concept design phase but the council expects it to start in 2016.

Lord Mayor Martin Haese said the project was vital to the ongoing revitalisation of the West End.

“It supports recent developments, such as the SA Medical and Health Research Institute, the new Royal Adelaide Hospital and UniSA, as well as encouraging more people to the area,” he said.

“The hard work put into developing the footpath upgrade with the community will help improve links within the West End Precinct to new developments on North Terrace.

“This process to renew and invigorate Hindley West really has been a team effort with the local community playing an important role.

“I’m sure we’ll all be very proud of the end result, with great new elements like greening, lighting and outdoor dining spaces.

“Collaborating with the community on these exciting improvements to our public spaces leads to further private investment that creates new jobs and exciting opportunities for our city.”

Mr Bennett said the second stage of the project would be jointly funded by the council and the State Government.

“We were very pleased to receive $1 million from the State Government and (the) council will be matching that funding,” he said.

Mr Bennett, said no decision had been made on how to permanently fix the slippery pavers from the first stage of the redevelopment.

“At the moment we are still assessing it (the grit treatment) and we will decide whether to patch it, reapply it or to find another solution,” he said.

The first stage cost $4 million and included contributions from the Adelaide City Council along with state and federal governments.

The development was criticised at the time by local traders because of delays and a loss of foot traffic while construction was ongoing.

September 17, 2015

Bitumen Tankers plying in American waters are now getting repositioned in Mediterranean Seas and the UAE area may be due to easing of Santions with Iran shall bring new market Opportunities for the Americans as well. They can play direct instead of the Mafia game so far for the Crude Oil played so far in quest of the National Energy Policy..

NewLead Holdings Ltd. announced today that the Company has entered into a new time charter contract for one of its bitumen tanker vessels, the MT Newlead Granadino for a minimum of six months with the charterer's option to extend the contract at the end of the first six months for additional six month periods up to a maximum of eighteen months.

The net charter-out rate is $10,500 for the initial six months and $10,750 for the remaining optional periods. The charter commenced on July 22, 2015.

When NewLead took delivery of Newlead Granadino in November 2014, the vessel was already chartered-out on a time charter agreement at a net charter-out rate of $8,900 for about nine months.

From the beginning of January 2015, when that time charter agreement expired, until the latest time charter agreement, the Newlead Granadino had been trading on the spot market and had completed six voyages in the Mediterranean Sea and the United Arab Emirates area.

Today, the Newlead Granadino is trading in North America where the vessel was repositioned in August 2015 to perform on the latest time charter agreement.

Mr. Zolotas added, "Today, four out of our five bitumen oil tanker vessels are in a time charter contract and one is trading spot which allows for hedging of the bitumen market fluctuations. Newlead is aiming to expand the Company's fleet with modern bitumen tankers to not only have a strong presence in the Mediterranean Sea and the United Arab Emirates area, but also in North America in order to develop on our strategic decision to be a worldwide player in the bitumen oil tanker market."

September 1, 2015

The City of Sydney’s first street was laid with TonerPave on September 16th, 2014.

Here the City’s Project Engineer, Iraj Shrestha and Contract Coordinator Ben Bli (left and center), discuss the production process of the toner into pellets with Greg Thompson, Downer Project Manager.

The City of Sydney’s first street was laid with TonerPave on September 16th, 2014.

Here the City’s Project Engineer, Iraj Shrestha and Contract Coordinator Ben Bli (left and center), discuss the production process of the toner into pellets with Greg Thompson, Downer Project Manager.

Did you know that the ink in your printer is considered one of the most expensive liquids in the world? If you were to fill up your standard 15 gallon gas tank with printer ink, it would cost you almost $75,000. Ouch.

Once your printer runs out of ink, consumers (hopefully) recycle the cartridges, which leaves millions of them forgotten in landfills. Inside those cartridges, it’s estimated that there is still 13% of unused ink just sitting there goring to waste.

Enter the asphalt industry, king of recycling, to make good use of those old cartridges. This time, it's an Australian company, Downer Group, who has been working to re-purpose this leftover toner powder for use in asphalt mixes.

How it Works

The material inside your toner cartridges is actually a small plastic powder material that is melted down when printed on to paper. When the waste toner is recycled, its low melting point makes it an effective glue in asphalt. This can reduce the use of oil-based bitumen.

TonerPave is the result and it's made by adding MTP (Modified Toner Polymer) to standard asphalt. The toner is blended with recycled oil and is 40% more energy efficient than the manufacturing of standard bitumen, with a relative saving of 270kg of CO2 emissions per ton.

Every ton of the toner-based product used in the asphalt mix replaces 600kg of bitumen and 400kg of fine aggregates, such as sand and soil. Almost 100 toner cartridges are needed to make 1 ton of asphalt.

TonerPave Put to the Test

“We have these toner cartridges and the challenge is to do something with them,” says Peter Tamblyn, marketing manager at Close the Loop. “This is the only commercially viable waste toner solution on the planet, it’s a good thing.”

Currently, the product, called TonerPave is being extracted from cartridges in Melbourne and then transferred to Sydney where it’s being blended and placed as tests on roadways.

The City of Sydney’s construction services manager, Andrew Christie, said the product must prove as resilient as regular asphalt and have the same 30-year lifespan. “In two or three years we should have an indication if it is a good alternative to traditional asphalt. Hopefully we can start to use it across Australia,” he said.

At $150 per ton, the mix costs the same as standard asphalt, but Christie expects this to drop as the product matures. Raw materials represent a small portion of road resurfacing costs, he said, which is mainly taken up by machinery and staffing.

However, this is the first time TonerPave has been combined with warm mix asphalt, which has been in use in Sydney since 2010. Warm mix asphalt is heated at temperatures lower than regular asphalt and saves the city 24,000kg of CO2 emissions each year.

Christie says 30% of this new mix is also comprised of recycled asphalt, significantly higher than the industry requirement of at least 10%.

The measure is part of the City of Sydney’s target to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 70% by 2030. It was the first local council in Australia to be certified carbon neutral under the National Carbon Offset Standard.

All of Australia’s waste toner powder could theoretically one day be used in asphalt mix, Tamblyn said, but many people throw their toner out rather than recycle it.

“If we could get our hands on all of Australia’s waste toner we would happily use it,” he said.

Tamblyn says “the rest of the world is looking at this” as the company begins investigating importing toner waste from overseas markets.